What Can Hackers Do?

As you’ll have read in our last post, there are different types of hackers and they all do different things (if you didn’t read it, check it out here!)

In this article, we’ll be focusing on the ones you’re most likely to come across – the Black Hats. Here’s a refresher on the different types!

White Hat

The Good Guys

White Hat

Also known as Ethical Hackers, these are the ones you want on your side. They only hack with permission, within the law, and they do it to test how secure an organisation's systems are.

Grey Hat

The Kinda-Good Guys

Grey Hat

These guys are on the fence - they do good (mostly) but without the ethics... What they do is illegal as it isn't done with permission, and it's usually for personal gain or for public interest.

Black Hat

The Bad Guys

Black Hat

On nobody's side but their own, this group of hackers find exploits in systems and use them for their own personal gain. They often use computer viruses and malicious tactics to get what they want!

So... What can they do?

Well, that depends on what they’re after! More often than not, they want your bank details or a login to something… Here are a few examples of the common and not-so-common methods they try and use to get hold of these details.

Telephone Calls

At some point, you’ll probably have answered the phone to someone wanting to try and sell you something by taking your bank details over the phone. Easy one to spot and avoid – NEVER give your bank information out over the phone!

Text Messages

We’ve all had the text messages where they pretend they’re from a parcel service (Royal Mail, DPD etc.) and send you a link to the page where you can supposedly “claim” your parcel… These links often contain malware, or they will ask you to verify your credit card details so they can “release” your imaginary parcel.

Emails

There are a few popular ways hackers use emails, most of which you’ve probably experienced!

African Prince – need we say more…? Everyone’s been offered millions by some fictitious African Prince who needs you to send him money to release your imaginary fortune…

Malicious Links – these links will either let a virus into your computer, or they’ll install something like a keylogger to steal your login details to websites, your bank details or other sensitive info.
Phishing Emails – usually, they’ll tell you you need to update your password as it’s about to expire, and then lead you to a webpage where they then steal your details. It can be rather convincing if you don’t know what to look for!
Hacked Accounts – if they’ve managed to get into an account, maybe belonging to someone you’ve had dealings with in the past, hackers can use it to send out emails.
Accounting Info – this type of email often starts along the lines of: “We’ve updated our banking details. Please use the following to pay us” and then give you the details to pay the hacker instead of the correct person.

Wi-Fi

Ever been sat in a café and seen 2 Wi-Fi networks with the same names? It’s likely the person trying to hack you was sitting in the same room! What can they do if you connect to their Wi-Fi instead of the real one?

They can monitor all of your unencrypted traffic. That means they can spy on data you send, including personal information like your name, address, and even bank account details and logins to websites!

We’ll look at this method more in a future post…

Social Engineering

One definition is: “The use of deception to manipulate individuals into divulging confidential or personal information that may be used for fraudulent purposes.” – Oxford Languages.

Essentially, it’s where people trick you into giving up information that they can use to get into an account. One of my favourite examples of this is from the film Now You See Me (if you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it!)

Details like your mother’s maiden name or the name of your first pet aren’t that difficult to find out! A little research into your Facebook page can give hackers everything they need to get into your accounts!

It’s a scary world we live in… Just be careful what information you share online and who can see it. Our next post will cover some things you can do to protect yourself from hackers.

If you think you might be vulnerable to attacks from hackers, get in touch with us and we’ll help you stay protected.

What Can Hackers Do?

White Hat

White Hat

Grey Hat

Grey Hat

Black Hat

Black Hat

So... What can they do?

Telephone Calls

Text Messages

Emails

Wi-Fi

Social Engineering

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